Midstory – The decline of industrial manufacturing rocked the Steel Belt from New York to Wisconsin, putting companies out of business and employees out of work. Many cities have since refurbished their former steel manufacturing facilities: in Bethlehem, a casino now operates in place of their steel plant; in Providence, a steel yard holds studios and programs for artists; and in Joliet, an iron and steel works site has been converted to a museum and nature preserve.
In Chicago, the U.S. Steel Works facility, which was closed in 1992, now operates as the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. In partnership with the quantum computing company PsiQuantum, the IMQP is currently building the first utility-scale quantum computer in the United States.
“I think it’s poetic that [the IQMP] happens to be at the site of a leading industry for the 20th century,” Aaron Fluitt, PsiQuantum’s senior director of technology partnerships, said.
Graphic by Yaffa Segal and Devon Rudolph for Midstory
